[Perry’s] spokeswoman, Katherine Cesinger, said by e-mail today: “Gov. Perry is proudly pro-life and successfully championed strong pro-life legislation in Texas including parental consent, this year’s sonogram bill and a budget that significantly defunds abortions in Texas. The governor has long supported overturning Roe v. Wade, and would support amending the U.S. Constitution, with the backing of Congress and the states, to protect innocent life.”

So Perry completely supports a conservative state’s right to flout progressive laws ensuring clean air or health care for the poor, but he would also rewrite the Constitution to prevent progressive states from governing the way they want to govern.

Lest there be any doubt, Perry’s belief that things like environmental regulations are completely optional has no basis in the Constitution. The Constitution gives national leaders sweeping power to regulate “commerce…among the several states,” and that includes the power to regulate polluting industries and polluting products such as automobiles. Similarly, while states do have the right to simply refuse Medicaid or federal education funds altogether. They may not, as Perry believes, simply suckle at the federal teat without also agreeing to obey Medcaid and education laws.

Simply put, Perry’s beliefs about the Constitution are radical even among the most radical tenther conservatives. He doesn’t simply misread the founding document to write essential health, education and environmental laws out of existence — he then ignores his own supposed loyalty to states rights to give the finger to gay couples and women.